Steve McCabe MP pledges support for ‘missing’ families

Steve McCabejoined families of missing people to pledge their support for the charity Missing People’s Missing Rights campaign which is seeking legislative support for families fighting the bureaucracy and heartache of resolving or managing a missing loved one’s affairs.

Meeting with Peter Lawrence, father of missing Claudia, and Claire Chandler, whose partner went missing in February 2011, Steve McCabe signed a postcard to formally show his support for the campaign.

The charity Missing People has campaigned for a number of years to secure support for families and ensure that anyone affected by the ‘missing’ issue is spared any unnecessary anguish caused by financial and legal bureaucracy. In addition, the charity is campaigning for families to be routinely provided with emotional support and should know that everything possible is being done to find their missing loved one.

Steve McCabe said: “I can only imagine how difficult it is for a loved one to go missing, Missing People can offer a lifeline to families when someone disappears. Their work is really important in giving families the support and advice they need.

“I support Missing People’s campaign to seek legislative support for families trying to overcome the bureaucracy when coming to the difficult matter of resolving or managing a missing persons affairs.”

The charity Missing People’s Director of Policy and Advocacy Nicola Sharp said: “We are deeply heartened by the cross-party support that is being expressed by MPs and Peers in their support of the Missing Rights campaign which seeks to ease the heartache experienced by the families of missing people.

“We hope that the roundtable discussions on Presumption of Death focus Parliamentary attention on this issue as we near the second reading of the Presumption of Death Bill in early November. Legislation on this issue already exists in Scotland and Northern Ireland and it is crucial that the same rights are extended to families in England and Wales."